


Struck by a Golden Arrow

by Otava



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Swan Lake Fusion, Cursed Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, F/M, Fluff, Food, Libraries, Missing Persons, REPTILES, Ware-lizard, curse, human to animal transformations, lizard!gold, unlikley friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-05-19 21:17:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14881364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otava/pseuds/Otava
Summary: Belle finds a stray lizard in her library and decides to keep it as a pet. Unfortunately, it turns out that the creature is actually Mr. Gold, thought to be dead many years ago, trapped in a lizard form.





	1. The Lizard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle finds a lizard in her library that will change her life.

Sometimes, Belle wished her life would be more eventful. Life in the small town of Storybrooke, Maine was sleepy and repetitive to say the least. The entire population consisted of only a few hundred people who had their habits locked into an endless cycle of dull continuity. Nothing ever happened, nothing ever would. 

Belle sat at her desk in the library where she worked and twirled a pen in her hand before biting down on it softly. At present, there were only six patron’s in her library that she ran completely by herself. Everyone there looked pretty relaxed, either reading a book or using the public computers. Thankfully it wasn’t one of those days like in the summer where there were about thirty or so people seeking refuge in the cool air conditioning of the building while she ran around hopelessly with always too much to do. Belle could take it easy and do as she pleased in that moment. She was allowing herself to take a break and finish the last few bites of her lunch while she lazily worked on a crossword puzzle. About half of it was done already; now only the harder words remained. The one she had been staring at for a while had a clue that stated the word she was looking for was the name of a former 1960’s U.S olympian. Clues like that were almost nearly impossible to figure out. As she continued trying to create a name from the related filled-in blocks, she saw something in the corner of her eye dart across her desk. Belle’s attention for her crossword book snapped as her eyes followed where she last saw the movement, and then to the patrons of the library to see if they had seen anything. One person coughed, but it appears that nobody seemed the wiser to the flash of movement that had just occurred. Something had just crawled across her desk.

A little rustle of papers confirmed her beliefs, that, indeed, something was in the corner of her desk now. Deciding to investigate closer, Belle got up from her chair and used the fork in her hand from her lunch to move some papers aside.

There, in the corner of her desk, stood a scalley little lizard who turned its head towards Belle upon her discovery. Belle made a quizzical face and stared at the creature who cocked it's head at her and stared back. The lizard was the most beautiful shade of green and gold that Belle had ever seen, and even had little specks of scales that sparkled when it caught the light. What a strange thing to find on her desk!

“Hello there, little guy,” Belle chirped, unafraid. “What are you doing here?” The lizard stood, paralyzed, its eyes breaking and making contact with Belle’s looking for a means for escape. It panicked and started to panic and run away. “Not so fast there,” Belle spoke, blocking the creature’s path with her book. 

She then picked the little lizard up ever so gently, cupping her hands together to keep the little guy from stirring. Her empty open-lidded lunch container became the place where she ended up putting him. It's little stubby legs tried and failed to climb up the sides until it ran out of breath. The lizard almost looked angry at her. Belle poked at the container. Perhaps she should let it go in the grass outside, she immediately thought.

“Woah! What’s that!?” little Henry Gold said as he came up to Belle’s desk with his father in tow while she was thinking.

“I think he’s a lizard,” Belle answered. “Mabey a gecko, or something similar, but I don’t know exactly yet. I found him on my desk right now.”

“He’s so cool! Are you going to keep him!?” Henry asked.

“I don’t-”

“He could be the library’s mascot!”

“I mean, I suppose-”

“Yay!” Henry shouted in delight. “Oh, and I want these three books right there, Miss Belle,” he added, holding up the library books that he had picked out with his father earlier.

“Alright,” Belle smiled sweetly. “Coming right up.” She checked his books out one by one, handing them back to the boy as she did so. “Have them back here for me in three weeks, okay?”

“Okay!”

“And what do you say to Miss Belle, Henry?” Neil, his father, asked.

“Oh, right! Yeah! Thank you Miss Belle.”

“No problem, enjoy them.” 

“I will. Bye,” Henry waved as he and his father left the library.

It had been a little over 2 hours since Belle had caught the lizard, and in that time, she’d done a little research into caring for the creature as a pet. First of all, yes, it was a lizard that she had caught, not a gecko or salamander. She could tell because of the moisture and eyelids on the creature. Second of all, she found out that she could, indeed, probably keep him if she got the supplies that she needed soon. Keeping the lizard as a pet wasn't a half-bad idea, Belle thought. Thankfully, it was a Sunday, so she closed early that day. She’d still have time to go out and buy some necessary supplies to keep the little creature as a pet.

It was luck of her that it was only a lizard she had found instead of a cat or a dog. There simply wasn’t any room for such a pet in her small apartment above the library. A lizard was a perfect distraction for a young, single woman such as herself who had been wanting a pet to keep her company. Belle made her way down to her local pet store to pick up a home for the lizard to stay in as well as some food, a water dish, and a light source, among a few other items. It was a little silly to spend a fair amount of money on a simple lizard, but he was cute and happened to fall onto her lap when she had been somewhat looking for a pet to keep. Also, when Henry had suggested that she keep him as a library mascot the deal was sealed in her mind. It was a great idea. A lizard was never a pet she had considered on having but people kept them as pets all the time, and so could she.

When she got back to her library, she set all her new things down and contemplated on where to put the little creature’s new home. She could pretty much put him anywhere that had a wide flat surface and an electricity outlet nearby. But she had to also consider the patrons and their children...and that the children could be a little “spirited” sometimes. So wherever she put it, it had to be within eye shot, flat, and with an outlet nearby.

In the end, she settled on putting the enclosure on the side of her desk where she could easily keep an eye on him throughout the day but where the children could still enjoy him as well. Belle starred at the creature who still seemed to be staring back at her intently. “Here you go,” she spoke out loud as she settled the lizard in the enclosure. It walked around, unsure of its new surroundings and somewhat scared. “Welcome to your new home.”


	2. Gold and the Great Glass Cage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizard!Gold contemplates his capture.

The Library opened at 9 A.M, but Belle was down on the floor around 8 doing her morning routine which consisted mostly of cleaning, sweeping, and a bit of re-shelving. Today, her morning chores also included duties that came along with her new lizard. They weren't too difficult, she fed the beast some bugs and changed out his water dish for some fresh water. The creature had seemed strangely receptive to Belle’s presence when she first appeared in front of him from upstairs, almost happy to see her. It made Belle smile. 

The library opened up and the day went down well. A few of the children and even the adult patrons were really excited to see the lizard on her desk when they checked out. She was glad she’d kept it and couldn’t wait to see the look on Henry Gold’s face when he next came in.

* * *

He had been careless, Gold thought to himself as he paced around his new home, a lizard tank on the front desk of a library. He’d been caught because he hadn't been careful while observing his son and grandson this time. Too many years trapped in the body of a lizard could really mess with a man and his motor skills, but then again, it probably was only a matter of time before this happened. 

His grandson, Henry, came to the library a lot, as well as his son, Neal. So, naturally, he’d taken to hanging around and in the library as much as he could to get a glimpse of his unsuspecting family. He’d discovered their frequent visits to the library on accident as he was slinking around town. Before then, he’d only gotten to see his grandson up close a handful of times. Under the cover of the library, he could visit his family to his heart's content without being spotted by anyone. Henry was about two when he’d last gotten within arm's reach of the boy. In the library, he could easily hide on top of, in, or underneath the books and shelved. Because of this, now he saw his family about once a week or so. It became his sanctuary.

Of course, all this time, Gold had been careful not to leave any trace of himself and he’d done a good job until he’d fallen from the safety of the high shelves due to the sudden jolt of a patron hitting the bookcase he’d practically been hanging off of. Within seconds, he found himself on the floor among the patrons, scrambling to hide as fast as he could. Staying along the wall, he ran, trying to get outside. It was too crowded with people at that time to stay on the floor. The only way he could reach the top shelves again is if he climbed up them in the open or entered the building from the ventilation from outside.

Somehow, in his attempt to escape, he winded up at the head librarian's desk. The woman’s name was Belle, and she’d lived in Storybrooke for about 6 or 7 years now. Single handedly, she’d cleaned up, and opened the town’s once deserted library. She was an amazing woman, someone he’d like to talk to and get to know if he ever got his body back. He owed her a lot, and she’d probably never know it. Unfortunately for Gold, he’d get to know her a lot more now weather he liked it or not since she had recently discovered and captured him. 

Of course he had been captured by humans before that point but he was always either released or put in some crude container which he always eventually escaped from. Being captured by Belle was different; she had bought him a whole tank made of glass, which would most-likely prove to be a challenge for him to escape from. It deeply surprised him that not only did she keep him, but she also went out of her way to buy him a rather nice habitat and provided him with food. He had half a mind to stay. If he stayed, he’d be safe, well-fed, and would still be able to see his family.

There was only one real problem about his staying though - and it had to do with the upcoming full moon.


	3. Ozymandias

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Mr. Gold got turned into a lizard...

Mr. Gold had once been a prominent man in the town of Storybrooke, Maine. He had a wife, a child, and a business of his own. But that had all gone to shambles about ten years ago when his wife left him and he got himself turned into a lizard. Nowadays, hardly anybody knew about who he was. His power, his prestige, his influence, were now all long gone. Little evidence of him ever being the man who “owned Storybrooke” remained, besides his old boarded up pawnshop building. His story was a long story to tell, but to summarize it quickly; it had all started with his wife, Milah.

Gold had first met his wife when he had been in law school; they had finally started dating around the time he had completed the bar exam and had graduated. Those first few years together had been some of the best times of his life. They had gotten married and had a child together. When their child, Neil, turned about three, that’s when the trouble first started. Milah had changed, but so had he for that matter. Fatherhood had made him responsible, caring, and doting, in a way he hadn’t expected. On the other hand, motherhood for Milah had made her more selfish than ever before. Milah was acting like she was in her 20’s still when she was actually in her 30’s, married, and a mother to a wonderful child. She had wanted adventure and wanted to try new things, still exploring herself and the world. There was a crack in their relationship and it kept on widening and widening as the years went on and both parties grew increasingly more dissatisfied with each other. Doubt seeped in both of their minds, and soon, Gold wondered if his wife had ever really loved him at all.

The stayed married, however, for far too long than they should have and hate grew. 

When the divorce finally went through, she hadn’t even been living with him for a few years. Despite her lifestyle and her cheating, she had managed to take away his son from him as well. The divorce hurt, but the custody arrangement hurt even more. Gold had to thank Milah’s latest lover for that, but at least he still got to see Neil every other week for the time being. What she had done to him was like punch in the gut, all too strong for him to bear by himself. Gold felt so empty. Alone. He broke down, so distraught over his wife leaving him and losing his son. In that moment, he felt as if he’d never been loved at all, or would be loved, or would ever experience love in any shape or form ever again; he was broken, incapable. Gold turned cold and his heart turned black, only a thimble of hope and love remained for his son. 

His son was his whole world now and all that would matter to him. With Neil gone for days at a time, his heart grew more black and it became harder and harder for him to go on when he wasn’t around. Evilness, hatred, and everything bad engulfed him and he was turning into a monster. Perhaps Milah was right... Even his son sometimes shied away from him or got embarrassed at his behaviour, although it didn’t even happen often when Neil was around. But now he had appearances to keep up around town, and he couldn't help his snarkiness around the townspeople if his son also happened to be there.

During the last year he had been a human, he was beginning to gain a even worse reputation than before. People were actually beginning to fear him. He had hurt people. His days had been rotten and he had been brooding continuously with no relief. He had snapped at everyone in town he had come across weather it be an old lady or a young child. 

That fateful night, they day he ceased being a human, he remembered it as if it had just happened: the night was stormy one as it often was in that part of Maine. Everything that could have gone wrong: did. Slamming the door to his Cadillac, he trekked to the doorstep to his house without an umbrella. It was cold and he was soaked, the silk tie he was wearing was ruined. Mud had congealed along the pathway to his door. With one misstep, he slid, and his weight was transferred to his bad leg, causing him to fall. Anger seized him and he screamed towards the heavens about his misfortune. He snapped.“You took my wife, you took my son, you’ve taken everything! Leave me alone!” Thunder rumbled ominously as if talking back to him. “I dare you, take more from me, I dare you to! I’ll never find love! What is the point to all this!” Gold picked himself up to his knees, covered in mud. His voice, now soft, whispered out loud. “I want to love. I want to love. I want to be loved, please.” Stuck alone in the town, all he had wanted in that moment was comfort. He was just a man, not the scary dark one everyone thought him to be, a scary creature. If they could only see the real him! He sobbed. 

It was the lowest point in his life, until a few moments thereafter when he turned into a lizard as the booming sound of thunder struck the air and filled with smoke. His fleshy body began to contort, grow scales, then shrink down. It had happened all so suddenly. One moment he was on his knees, and the next, his head and whole body was only a few centimeters off the ground; he had no idea what had happened or what he was going to do now.


	4. The Picture of Dorian Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle discovers Gold's secret.

Belle stayed downstairs cleaning her library late into the evening; she still had a lot to tidy up, choosing to stay the extra time tonight so the shelves wouldn’t get worse by tomorrow. The reason her shelves were in such a state of distress was because Mary Margaret had taken her class to the library on a field-trip earlier that day. The kids had absolutely gone to town on the shelves despite their teacher's lectures on cleanliness and respect. Mary Margaret had apologized extensively as they left and even offered to help clean but Belle shook her head and said she’d handle it on her own. Now, looking at her shelves, way past closing time, Belle wished she had accepted the offer.

The library’s local pet lizard, which Belle had owned for a few weeks now, had been really popular among the class of young children. All of them, at one point, had come over to the case to either look at the creature or tap wildly at the glass. One child had tapped so hard, Belle thought he was going to break it, Mary Margaret made him apologise for his rough behavior, of course. There were so many kids in the big library that it was hard for the two of them to keep an eye on them all. Thankfully, they had all calmed down when Belle read them a book for story time. Kids visiting the library brought so much joy to Belle’s heart. Today, a few student’s from Mary Margaret's class had even gone on their first ever visit to the library. A few of them, upon leaving, even expressed their wishes to come back with their parents to get a library card. That made staying longer to clean up worth it to Belle.

Now nighttime, the full moon rising high above the sky, Belle realized that it was about time to feed the lizard as she had forgotten to earlier due to the day’s events. She reasoned that she’d better do it now before she forgot. Belle got the food ready and opened up the tank. To her surprise, the instant she did so, the lizard used her arm to climb up onto her and escape the tank. Floundering to catch him, Belle missed her mark as the lizard landed on the floor and ran through the library to the crack at the front door.

“Wait!” Belle cried after the creature. She couldn't just let him go so easily. Not after all they’d been through. “Stop!” she shouted.

By the time she made it outside, she saw the creature, illuminated by the streetlights, scurry down the street and towards the old abandoned building. The weathered and paint-peeled sign at the building read: Mr. Gold Pawnbroker and antiques dealer. People around town said that place was haunted, but that didn’t stop Belle from running to catch her lizard.

She rushed after him down the street. When she caught up, he had just wriggled between one of the boards that were nailed onto the exterior of the pawnshop. Belle tried to catch him but ended up only yanking at the remnants of his tail. He couldn’t just escape like this! There could still be a way to get him.

Belle did her best to peer into the abandoned shop through the many cracks the building was sporting to see where the lizard might have gone, unfortunately the pawnshop was too dark. Visible cracks in the building were few and far between. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and then a pained groan.

“Ach! Oh no!” whined out a man’s voice.

Belle curled back with fear. Was there somebody in there? That couldn't be so. But what if they were in pain or hurt? “Are you okay in there?” she finally cautiously asked. Belle the distinctly heard the noise of somebody running into things and shuffling. But no response. “Sir,” Belle spoke, identifying the voice she heard earlier to be a man’s, although it did sound rather strange. “Are you alright?”

“Leave me alone!” the voice cracked with a hiss.

“You’re... unwell-” No man should be in such a building. Especially if he was hurt.

“No, I’m fine,” the voice corrected her. “Leave!”

Belle made her way to the back of the shop with some caution and found a point of entrance big enough for her to fit through. She caught a hint of motion in the building, a man’s bare ankle. It moved away, limping in a pained way.

“Sir!”

More clattering ensued as Belle climbed through the entrance in the building. Once inside, she saw the shadow of an unkempt man move into a corner. She curiously stepped closer to where she saw the man’s shadow poke out from. 

“Get away. Please,” the man urged, his voice softening now.

“You’re in pain,” she said, scared but genuinely concerned.

The man stayed silent and uncomfortably shifted in the shadows.

“I won’t hurt you-” Belle said.

“And how do I know that?!” The man shouted, making Belle jump back. Up till now she had trusted him, now she feared for her safety.

“You can trust me-”

The man seemed to shift closer to her for a brief moment, but he was still obscured in the shadows. Belle, herself, was exposed in the moonlight. If only she could see him to determine if he truly needed her help or not.Something against her better instincts told her it was okay to stay. It was as if it was some kind of magic. Belle took a nervous step forward. “Come into the light.”

After some hesitancy, a man appeared before her, naked, save a piece of cloth he held in place over his privates. “Belle-” the man began to say.

“How do you know my name?” she cut him off, taking a few quick steps back, terror filling her body once more..

The man’s appearance was scruffy, ragged, and sad. His face had deep frown lines and hints of crow’s feet. Probably in his forties or so. She could have sworn that she had seen this man before and he surely seemed to know her...

“I can explain,” the man’s voice struggled.

“Please do,” Belle said with as much confidence and authority as she could muster but her wavering voice betrayed her false bravery.

The man sighed deeply, an internal battle was brewing in his eyes. “I’m…” he started. His sunken eyes widened as he decided against saying whatever it was that was caught in his throat. “Oh, nevermind.” He paused. “Just leave, please. Before it’s too late.”

“You…”Belle started, not knowing exactly what to say. She needed to break the tension. “You’ve seen a lizard anywhere in here?”

The man chuckled almost darkly. “No, dearie. There’s no lizards in here, now move along.”

“You’re Scottish, aren’t you?” Belle asked, finally pinning the man’s accent. Her true bravery was starting to show as the pieces of the puzzle finally starting to somewhat fit into place, no matter how absurd they actually seemed.

“Aye,” the man spoke.

“I was told that Mr. Gold, the owner of this place was Scottish. Do you know him?”

“Aye, I do. Quite well.”

“What happened to him. Why are you here?”

“One question at a time, dearie.”

“How do you know him?”

“We’re related,” the man simply said as he limped into the shadows again. Belle heard some rustling around and the man returned back into view, now dressed partly in rumpled suit without the jacket.

“And what happened to him?” Belle continued, now more comfortable that the man had clothes on.

“What do you think happened to him?” the man shot back.

“Well,” Bell began to speak. “People around here either say he was a coward who ran away or that he died. Nobody knows for sure what happened. Some say he killed himself or that he was murdered. Nobody really knows what happened to him though.”

“Yes, so I’ve heard. And this Mr. Gold had a son, correct? What of him? What does he think happened to his dear old Papa?”

“The kid, Neal, I know him, has a son of his own now, I think he was in college or out of college when-”

“He was nearly 18 at the time,” the man interrupted.

Belle nodded. “All I know that his father left and it tore him apart so he ran away, searching for him.”

“Then he came back to town?” the man asked.

“Yes. He never found him, but he came back to Storybrooke. He lives in Gold’s old house with his own family now.” The man nodded. Belle slowed down, coming to a realization about this mysterious man. “The thing is…”she paused, careful of her phrasing in front of a man she just met and didn’t trust yet. “I’ve talked to Neil a few times, and I know this: he doesn't have any other family. I ask you then, If you’re really related to Gold, then how?”

“Have you seen a picture of Gold before?’

Belle nodded. “I think Neal showed me once before.”

“Surely you must recognize-”

“There may be a resemblance, but I only saw the picture once.”

“Mmm,”The man said.

“What happened to him? Did you kill him?”

Belle’s accusation made the man laugh. “No. Why would you say that?”

“I have no idea who you are.” Belle took a step back. “And you magically appear in here, I find you naked, looking the way you do. And then you start talking about the Gold family. It’s suspicious if you asked me.” Even though she had taken steps back, there was something about the man’s eyes that told her he wasn’t all that bad. It was as if he was a trickster asking her to solve a life changing riddle with no real malicious intent to his actions.

“I didn't kill him.” The man had stayed ever still from where he had been the whole time, as if to show Belle that he wasn’t going to cause her harm. “That’s the truth.” He got moved for the first time after he had gotten his clothes on and walked a few steps back and to his right to a desk where he grabbed a picture from a frame. He then stepped forward and walked mid-way to where he and Belle had been standing and placed the frame on an abandoned side table. “Look.”

Belle stared at the photo, then walked closer. It was a picture of what appeared to be a young Neil and a man that looked eerily similar to the man before her but perhaps a few years younger. “I don’t understand.” She looked at the man, then tho photo, then back to the man again.

“You-”

“Yes. I am he.”


	5. No Man Is an Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold explains his curse.

“How- Why are you here?” Belle asked the man standing before her who, not even an hour ago, was five inches long and had a body that took the form of the library's resident pet lizard. She didn’t quite know yet, but she would soon find out the secret nobody else knew. “Why did you leave, Mr. Gold!if that really is who you are-”

“-it is. The picture should be proof enough.” He shot back quickly. Belle had to admit her defeat there. This man was a dead-on match to the photos she’d seen. He was definitely the long-lost Mr. Gold.

“Your son...everybody’s convinced you’re dead!” Belle questioned the man before her.

“I can explain-”

“No, You can't! You can't just abandon your family like that and then suddenly reappear. What are you doing here?”

“Listen!” said Mr. Gold, raising his voice. “Please. It’s not what you think! It’s not what anyone thinks!”

“Do explain then,” Belle said.

“I was cursed.”

“So you just left? I heard there was a divorce and that it really didn’t go well but-”

“No. No, you don’t understand.” He laughed a defeated and almost unstable laugh. “I actually was, and still am, cursed! All this time, I’ve been here!Here! Don’t you see!?”

“What?”

“That lizard! The one you were looking for just now, that’s me!” he realized how insane he must look, shouting nonsense and successfully calmed his voice, explaining rationally. “That’s how I look about 20-something days out of a month; give-or-take.”

Belle shook her head in disbelief. “You? The library’s lizard?”

He shook his head as if shaking off bad thoughts. “I know, It's not logical, even to me. If someone told me this, I don’t know if I could believe them. But listen, it makes sense.”

What Mr. Gold was saying, it was highly improbable.

“ I can prove it-” he said.

She turned her head towards him. “And how?”

“I’m a human now, but I won’t stay like this for long. My curse keeps me as a lizard most of the days, _except_ on a full moon. If I stay in this building on a full moon, I can remain human for 24 hours thereafter, until the next moon appears.”

“Why in your shop only? What if you want to go somewhere else?”

“I can’t.” He was getting more stable now. “Only here works. I don’t know why, but I physically can’t make myself leave here once I turn back into a human. I think I’m connected to this place somehow. It was the last place I had come from before I,” he paused. “...got cursed.”

“Was it a full moon that day? The day you “transformed” as you say?”

“I think it was, but it was a long time ago.”

“Ten years?” Belle said in awe.

“More or less,” Gold said with an outward huff of a breath.

“Well then, how did you survive so long here and as a lizard?”

“I was careful. I hid, stayed in solitude…”

Mr. Gold’s face was struck with so much emotion and hurt that Belle almost believed him completely.

He, a stranger, was asking her to suspend her disbelief for him. What he said thought, it kind-of made sense in a way. Belle decided in that moment to see where this conversation lead her. She was always one to decide for herself what to think. If this man really was Mr. Gold, a magic lizard, then she’d find out on her own with her own judgement and own evidence. He seemed to really believe he was a part-time cursed lizard and Belle could see it did certainly explain a lot if it was, in fact, true.

Mr. Gold clenched his fist and evened out his ragged breathing. What was happening, it was a lot for him as well. So much was happening.

“You must be lonely,” Belle said quietly, realizing the gravity of the situation. This man, magic or not, needed some serious help and compassion that she could easily provide. 

“Miss. French,” Gold began to say. “You’re the first person I’ve talked to in over ten years,” he said. “I’m sorely out of practice.”

“I think you’re doing great-”

“Can you do me a favor?” Gold asked quickly before Belle had the chance to finish.

“I suppose…?”

“Give these to my son.” Gold reached over and pulled some papers out of a nearby top desk drawer. It appeared to be a thick bundle of letters.

“But Mr. Gold, your son thinks you’re dead, these letters-”

“I suppose…” Gold looked shocked, taken aback for a moment before he regained his crumbling composure. “I suppose that wouldn’t do then, would it? No point in reopening old wounds,” he mumbled. “I can’t stand to think him thinking that his old man abandoned him like that though. I’m still alive... Perhaps, though, it’s better if I do remain dead to him and the world. It’s for the best,” he nodded to himself as he mumbled out this argument out loud. The letters went back into the desk without a second thought.

“I’m sorry. But is there anything, else, you’d like me to do for you?” Belle asked kindly, putting her soft hand on the shaking man’s back.

“I could really go for a hamburger right now. I used to love the ones from Grannies.” He smiled with such fondness. “Since I can’t leave the building, I’m never able to eat when I’m in my human form. Oh! And a newspaper. I’d like one of those too, if you can,” Gold said, facing Belle now with such excitement as if his whole world had just opened up.

“Grannies isn’t open at this time of the night, but I can definitely get you something from my fridge at home.”

“Please,” Gold said quickly.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do about food and the newspaper.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be right back!” Belle rushed out of the shop and into the night. What had just happened!?


	6. Eat Talk Learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle brings Gold some supplies.

The night was cold as Belle rushed down the street to her library and home where her refrigerator was located. She was going to feed the strange man from the pawnshop who claimed to be a ware-lizard. Her hands were shaking as she unlocked her door and headed towards her kitchen. Once there, she dumped a bunch of tupperware containers of leftovers into a reusable shopping bag, rushing around her kitchen grabbing a few fresh-food items such as fruit and vegetables and a bag of cookies as a last thought. She figured that he’d really appreciate some cookies. After she grabbed a couple of things like a jacket for herself and a pillow for him then made her way back to the pawnshop where she had left “Mr. Gold”. There was a newspaper vending machine right outside the pawnshop. She fed the machine a few quarters opened it up to grab a paper for him. The headline read nothing of significance to report.

Gold was sitting on a stool looking at his letters to his son when she came back in with the paper and the other stuff she had grabbed for him.

“What did you write to him about?” Belle asked, breaking his concentration from his reading.

“You startled me, Miss French,” he said.

“What did you write to him about?”

“I wrote to my son about everything,” Gold said quietly. “I wrote until I ran out of ink and pencil. As a lizard, I found discarded writing tools on the street that I carried here as I waited for my day to be human again. Let me tell you, it was not an easy thing to do, to carry those things all the way here, but I did and it was worth it.” 

“I wish I could help you more,” Belle said, looking straight at the sad man.

“No, you’re alright,” he said. “It’s better this way. You brought me food and talked to me. That’s more than I could ever ask for.”

“Oh, yes, the food,” Belle said, handing Gold the shopping bag. “It’s not much, but I hope this is alright.”

Gold took out the food and inspected all of the items individually as if he was sorting out an order on which of the items to eat first. “This…” he said, voice almost cracking. “Thank you for this.” He opened up one of Belle’s tupperware containers of leftovers. “I can’t say no to a home-cooked meal,” he said taking a forkful of food into his mouth and paused.

“What is it?” Belle asked. She could really tell that he enjoyed it as he put a fork-full into his mouth and then another. He closed his eyes as if he had just tasted food from a three michelin star restaurant. 

“This is delicious. God this is delicious,” he said eating the rest of his food. Quickly. “Did you really make this yourself?”

Belle nodded. “A few nights ago.” She took pride in her cooking and it warmed her heart for someone else to appreciate it even if he’d be saying such words no matter what she’d brought him. He was lucky that she always made too much for herself. “It’s probably because you haven’t eaten in awhile,” Belle said. “Human food anyway.” She only half-believed the human-to-lizard thing he had been going with so far. Well, more like 75% believed and climbing. Tonight was a strange night.

“I miss this,” Gold said, moving onto the next food item Belle had brought him.

“Take it easy, Mr. Gold! You’re going to make yourself sick the way you’re eating,” Belle chided.

“I know. I’ll stop soon. Believe it or not, I once was a man of self-control. Just those cookies, then I’ll stop.”

“You like sweets?”

“I adore them, but don’t you go telling people around town about that, Mrs. French. I was known to be a man to be feared in this town, once upon a time. Can’t have them thinking I’ve gone soft!”

“Oh really?” Belle said, teasingly.

“I owned about 3/5ths of the whole town at one point in my life. Such a feat doesn't come about by being nice.”

Belle nodded, still somewhat cautious of the stranger with the strange tale. “Well, it’s getting late. I’ll be back over here in the morning with a hamburger from Grannies if you’re still around tomorrow...”

“Trust me, Miss French. I’ll be here whether I like it or not. It’s part of the curse.”

Mr. Gold had said everything tonight with such power and seriousness that Belle had to believe his story. “Alright,” she smiled. “See you tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Gold stood up as she did so. “Sorry for keeping you so long. Thank you, Miss French.”

“Not a problem,” she smiled brightly.

“Goodbye and thank you again for the food. It was nice speaking to you.”

Belle nodded and trekked back to her library for the last time that night. She crawled back in to her bed, feeling exhausted. Gold was on her mind as she drifted asleep.


	7. Re-metamorphosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold turns back.

Being back in his human form for the one day was always something that Gold cherished. He stood bathed in the streaming rays of moonlight, his mind reeling. His secret had been discovered by the librarian, Belle French of all people. The adorably smart librarian captured him in his lizard form and then seen his true self.

Because he only had 24 hours as a human a month, he made sure that not a moment was wasted and never slept during this time. He looked down at the blanket and pillow that the librarian had left him and smiled. She was so thoughtful. It was cold during this time of the year so he did wrap the blanket around his shoulders to keep warm while he walked around his pawnshop. He dusted a bit, read the paper over and over, and ate some more of the delicious food until the librarian came back to him early the next morning.

“I brought the hamburger you wanted from Granny’s!” Belle shouted from outside. “I thought we’d have lunch together.” 

He welcomed her in. She had also brought herself some food as well. “It’s still warm,” Gold whispered, inspecting the layers of the burger. “Mmm. Though Granny’s gotten stingy with the pickles since I’ve last dined there.”

“I’ll be sure to ask for extra next time I go back there.”

“You mean...you’re willing to come back?” Gold asked.

“Of course! I just can’t walk away from this now. We’re in this together now, right?”

Gold was ecstatic and hopeful. He’d now have someone in his life. A friend? He’d get to have a friend for some time, about once a month. What a saint! What a goddess! “Thank you, Miss French.”

Don’t mention it,” she smiled. “I don’t know how you’ve managed for so long.”

“Yes. There’s been a few close calls, for sure. You know, birds are actually the worst of them all because-”

“No, I mean I don’t know how you managed without a friend. Human contact.”

Gold shrugged but felt a pang in his heart at Belle’s brutally truthful words resonated with him. “You get used to it.”

“Oh. Perhaps it would be better if I left then,” Belle said, getting up, half teasing. But she wasn’t sure if he truly had been accustomed to being alone and she was intruding.

“No!” Gold all but jumped up and reached out to grab Belle’s arm, making them both jump at the contact. Gold quickly removed his hand seconds later as if he had been burned. There was a strong reaction on his part, almost painful, so-much-so that he had actually winced. That brief touch felt very much like magic, very similar to the feeling when he turned to and from into a lizard.

“Are you okay?” Belle reached out to touch him again, putting her hand out on his back as he doubled over in agony. Her hand felt like scalding water, as he felt the same sensation that he felt seconds ago. And then...it felt nice.

They had touched the day earlier but that reaction didn’t occur that time. Not like this. “I’m fine,” he spoke, straightening his back. “Let’s finish eating. I’ve been wanting to eat this for ages.”

* * *

Belle had stayed with Gold most of the day, only leaving for food and to check on the Volunteers who were running the library for her on the slow-work day. There was a lot of technology and world-news for her to catch Gold up on. He marveled at the thin-ness of her phone; it wasn’t the same phone he knew 10 years ago. She showed him how to use it and connect to the internet and all he wanted to do with it was to call his son, but he knew better. He couldn’t destroy his son’s happiness. Not unless his curse was lifted and he could walk around free again. He wanted nothing more than to give his son and grandson a big hug.

The night began to creep into existence again, marking the change of Gold back into his lizard form for the remainder of the moon-cycle. The process wasn’t all too painful usually, just a quick searing pain sometimes and a poof of magic accompanied by a tingling feeling, then he was a lizard again.

He did request for Belle to leave during the actual process itself. It was easier for him to do this process with his clothes off. Crawling out of a full ensemble as a lizard was a chore; it was easier if he just took of the clothes before he transformed so he could fold and store them properly for his next transformation rather than leaving them in a wrinkly pile all over the floor. Belle had suggested that she could buy him new clothes by the time of his next transformation , which he was very glad for among other things.

It was nearly time for his transformation, so he decided to start stripping down, He could feel the magic tingling down his spine, indicating that the change was about to begin. Hastily, Gold took off the rest of his kit and placed it in the little box he always put his clothes in.

The moonlight was shining into the room now and Gold’s barred flesh was exposed to it. Gold took in a few deep breaths of sweet air until the magic boiling in his body became too great. With one last look at his human fingertips, he began to transform back into the lizard he spent most of his time as.

It felt as if all his air had been knocked out of his body at once. His lungs compressed with the last breath he had taken in as a human as he shrunk down in size. Adjusting and transforming was always a bit tough. His mind always even felt a bit altered, it usually took him 15 minutes or so to fully adjust. That’s part of the reason Belle’s surprise intrusion the other day had taken him for a loop. He’s been thankful for it now, of course, but the timing couldn’t have been any worse. Especially since she had just yanked at his tail moments earlier. 

Now, Gold looked back at his body and saw his tail swish back and forth behind him. The very tail that Belle had pulled at, completely in tact. His lizard body always seemed to re-set every time he turned back. It did not age, unlike his human body, which seemed to be aging very slightly as evidenced by his appearing grey hairs. To his knowledge, lizards didn’t have too long of a lifespan and he’d been one for 10 years. 

It had to be magic…


	8. Heartbeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle runs into someone from her past. Belle and Lizard!Gold develop a method of communication.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **** Reminder: Chapter summaries are available for individual chapters.(I, the author, even needed the refreshers).

Belle had been waiting outside the pawnshop for a good fifteen minutes for Gold to emerge. She was beginning to get worried. He had told her that the process of changing back into a lizard from a human was rather quick, but it would take a few minutes for him to fully adjust to his reptile form again. It was so incredibly cold outside and she just wanted to get warm as soon as possible.

“Belle?” came a voice to the left of her. She turned to find her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Gaston, standing beside her. “What are you doing here, babe?”

“Just...breathing, I mean, getting a breath of fresh air. It’s such a clear and nice night tonight,” she said quickly. They currently weren't seeing each other but he still always managed to call her babe. 

“Nice? It’s cold, that’s what it is,” Gaston huffed, rubbing at his muscly arms under his thin sports jacket. “Aren’t you dying out here?”

“I’m...managing,” Belle said, taking out her phone as a que for him to leave. She stayed on her device for a few seconds before glancing up now and then to see if Gaston was still there.

He was.

“Belle, I can’t let you stay out here like this. You’ll catch your death.”

“I’m fine,” she said again. “I’ll see you later, okay,” she spoke curtly.

Gaston narrowed his eyes. “Alright. Text me when you’re warm,” he said. 

The oaf glanced over his shoulder, still checking on her, as he stalked down the street, making Belle flush with anger. She had told herself that the last time she saw him was the absolute last time that they would be together. Her pride would not let herself go crawling back to him; she would not give him the satisfaction. He was truly a bad person for her to be with. They’d been together over the span of 6 years. Even the first time she went out with him, she knew that he wasn’t right for her, yet they persisted to date. Back then she was new in town and needed connections and companions. But what they had wasn’t great. They had some serious problems to deal with. They broke up after a long 20 months. Four months later, they hooked up again after Gaston had gone through another break-up. He had told Belle he loved her still that night and they had another month of happiness before they couldn't stand being together again. 

God, he was so insensitive and uncouth. Now, Belle could hardly look at him. During the month they had gotten together, after he had “broken up” with his girlfriend, Gaston had apparently still been sleeping with that second girl, cheating on Belle. 

Belle had suspected he had even cheated on her when they were first together after that incident due to some things he said after she confronted him. When Belle began dating again, it was confirmed by her new partner that Gaston was indeed a serial cheater all along and that all the men in town knew it. He often bragged about it, several times, it seemed.

Before long, Belle had broken up with that man as well. It had indeed been awhile since Belle had been with someone at this point; she was lonely. Couples seemed to surround her everywhere, kissing, hugging, and comforting one another. She really hated to be alone. 

With Gaston, at least she could pretend to be loved. But she couldn't go back now; he really was a terrible person. It was nearing two years now since she left him for good and they were both getting antsy.

Gaston had finally disappeared from sight and it had been more than 20 alarming minutes now since she had left Gold in the shop. The cold was making her shake now, Gaston was right: she should get inside soon. 

Belle sat down against the side of the building, her breath visible in the cold air. Right when she was set upon going inside, she saw a little gold lizard dart from the crack in the wall and stop right in front of her. It was getting to the point where she thought he had been lying about it all. The transformation, the magic, all of it. Her heart quickened as as she saw him emerge.

“Gold?” She spoke out loud to the lizard. She felt so incredibly stupid talking to the little creature. The lizard’s head bobbed up and down as if it was nodding. “Is this really you?” The lizard walked in a circle and then stopped in front of her and nodded again. “It really is you!” Belle said out-loud, gasping a little. She held out her hand, her heart rapidly jumping in her chest, and the lizard, Mr. Gold climbed upon it. Part of her wanted to squirm from the little pitter-patter of his reptilious feet but she managed to remain calm. It was a weird feeling. “Let’s get you to the library,” she told the lizard.

The two of them returned to Belle’s home and she placed him on the counter of her kitchen, happy to be warm again. “How are you feeling Mr. Gold?” she asked him.

He tilted his head and body back and forth.

“You can understand me completely,” she said. Gold tilted his head again and blinked at her. “You do. Good!” Belle exclaimed, overjoyed. “Oh my gosh.” A brilliant thought popped into her head. “Hold on there!” Belle rushed to her living room and grabbed a pen and stray paper to draw a set of letters as well as the words “yes” and “no” on the page and brought it back to him.

Gold took a look at the board. It looked like a homemade ouija board. Quickly, Gold scurried over to the _‘yes’_ and then spelled out _”T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U”_. This is what he needed! He could communicate as a lizard now!

“I’m going to be keeping you in here for the next month, as we agreed, so we can figure your curse out, but you need to remember that you are welcome to come and go as you please. I made an open enclosure for you if you want to stay here in my home. There's also the enclosure down stairs that’s still there if you want to ever visit your grandson or hang out there with me during the day.”

 _“Yes.”_ Then _“S-O-N,”_ he wanted to be downstairs to see his son.

Belle somewhat frowned. “You really miss your him, don’t you?”

_“Yes.”_

“Perhaps next month we can just show him, just like you showed me?”

Gold shook his head. _“ No. N-O-T. Y-E-T.”_

“Okay. We’ll talk about that later. When It’s easier for you to talk, that is.”

Lizard Gold seemed pleased at that sentiment. Belle adjusted her stance, ending the conversation. “Well, I’m going to make myself some dinner now to help warm up. I’m hungry. Do you need anything else before I do that?”

_”No.”_

“I was thinking about making stir-fry…” she spoke out loud, looking over to him, wondering if he was going to stay by her for the rest of the night or if he wanted to do his own thing. They hadn’t really discussed any of this part ahead of time. Gold didn’t move from the counter, so Belle took that as a sign to proceed to work on her meal with him there.

Oh! How Gold wished he could talk and eat with Belle. She would never know this, but being a lizard was so incredibly lonely. Human interactions as simple as having a meal together were out of the question for him. Of course he had wanted to eat and spend time with her if she was offering it! Once Belle was finished making her meal, she got out a plate and served herself. “I know some people think it’s messy, but I usually eat in the living room with the TV on when I’m by myself.”

Gold nodded and Belle put out a hand for him to climb on as they went into the other room. She placed him and his ouija board on the coffee table in front of her as well as a few raw greens for him to eat as she began eating her own dinner.

He could cry right then and there, if only he could cry as a lizard.

Belle turned on the T.V. “Do you have a preference? You haven’t seen T.V in years, huh? I was thinking about maybe news, but that can be a bit depressing sometimes. We could also watch a fun show, if you’d like? What do you think?”

He couldn’t think of anything he wanted to watch. All his shows were either ended or no longer aired. “N-E-W-S,” he indicated with the board. Belle didn’t particularly enjoy watching the news, but she’d indulge him with the world events and info he needed to catch up on. After the news ended, jeopardy started. Belle left it on that as the host began to asked the contestants questions from all categories. Belle noticed Gold was scurrying across the board. He was answering the questions!

“Oh, “ Belle remarked. “You like Jeopardy?”

_“Yes.”_

“I do too! Let’s see how fast you are at running because I’m going to shout out some answers too!”

The pop-culture questions had Gold at a loss, but he crushed all of the other categories. He was actually having fun with another human being! His heart was actually racing after the episode and it wasn’t from all his running. At some point, Belle had fallen asleep on the couch with the T.V. on. The news came on again. What he was seeing frightened him. What had the world come to?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very excited to finally post this! I hope people like it! It was incredibly fun to write :D  
> Story is officially 100% finished. May take me awhile to get it posted/type it out. 
> 
> UPDATE: Each chapter has a quick summary in case you don't wanna re-read things. Thanks to those who are sticking around SO MUCH!
> 
> UPDATE 4/2/19 OOF. It's been awhile. I'm very busy trying to graduate here. Updates till June will be slow due to this Thanks for staying with me!
> 
> We're roughly 1/4 done.


End file.
